RAC Foundation report throws doubt on 'peak car' theory
Tue 04 December 2012
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The RAC Foundation's 'On the Move' report is a major study of shifting travel patterns amongst different sections of society since the late 1990s. The report examines the idea that car use may be at or close to its peak and finds evidence that the theory may not be correct.
In much of their work the researchers specifically excluded data from the recent recession so that short-term economic pressures did not mask long-term changes in travel patterns.
In the decade to 2007, amongst other conclusions the report found:
• Company car mileage fell by 37%
• Excluding company car mileage, those aged 30 and over outside London increased their car travel. This group accounts for 70% of the British adult population
• In London car mileage per person has fallen by about a fifth. But while company car mileage dropped by 65%, that by private cars was down only 8%
The researchers also looked at variances in regional trends and this data has been plotted on an interactive map.
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "There has been much talk of 'peak car' - the idea that individual car use has reached a plateau - but strip out the one-off impact of a collapse in company car mileage and prior to the recession we were actually driving more.
"Let's not forget about population growth. An extra ten million people are predicted for the UK over couple of decades and whatever we do individually will be dwarfed by the travel needs of these extra people.
"We must recognise that future transport demand will vary by time, place and demography. Every one of us has different transport needs and a simple one-size-fits-all approach will not work."
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